


first touch is everything

by ragingbowner



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sports, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25009978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragingbowner/pseuds/ragingbowner
Summary: The beautiful game brought them together as children fifteen years ago. Now, it might be what tears them apart.catradora soccer au
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	1. daydream (about me)

**Author's Note:**

> wooo chapter 1 of soccer au is done! honestly this is all self-indulgence but i rlly hope y'all enjoy,,,, pls remember that i am a jock but not a soccer jock so pls be gentle w me <3

Like any good athlete, Adora has her pregame ritual. Left sock, right sock, right cleat, left cleat, left shin guard, right shin guard. She’s never deviated from her sure-fire formula since she created it when she was seven, running around a middle school soccer pitch in socks that were too long and cleats that were too big. It’s always given her a sense of comfort, of security. Even when playing on a new team, her pre-game ritual never failed to give her some sense of familiarity. It keeps her safe.

Or at least, it did until she hit the ground, her head slamming against the turf pitch. Adora goes down in the sixty-fourth minute. She hears the stadium go quiet for a second before there’s yelling from Mara, Etheria’s captain. She knows that she should be frustrated, angry even, she had a great scoring opportunity and the challenge that took her down was sloppy at best, but it felt more dirty than anything. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see a yellow card being shown to the defender that tackled her. 

Adora sighs and sits up slowly, not bothering to get up, she knows medics are already headed her way. She can feel her head aching and pounding in her skull. It feels like someone is trying to squeeze her brain with their bare hands. 

She groans.

The medics run her through concussion protocol. She knows it’s serious when she tips over when trying to walk in a straight line, but she knows better than to fight it. After all, how many 21 year olds even get the chance to play in a World Cup quarterfinal for their national team? With any luck, she’ll be back up and running in time for the final, if they make it that far.

Mara is the one who takes the penalty kick. She slots it right into the upper left corner as the keeper dives the other way, bringing Etheria up 1-0.

Adora doesn’t realize that her legs are throbbing underneath her shin guards until she sits down on the bench, probably bruised from the impact. She pulls out her shin guards, smiling at them fondly in her hands. One is a simple red and white, with the logo of their youth team and two messy doodles of Catra and Adora painted along the length. The other is white with gold accents and a gold crest and blue gemstone painted in the center. Catra had painted her shin guards before Adora left for Japan.

It’s the eighty ninth minute when Castaspella brings their lead to 2-0, chipping the keeper to score from outside of the box.

Adora thinks she’s going to cry, and not because of the concussion. Castaspella’s goal all but guaranteed them a spot in the semifinals and she feels her body erupt with excitement. Before she knows what she’s doing, Adora’s on her feet and screaming her lungs out in celebration, even as the pressure in her head grows. It takes  _ Huntara  _ to get her to sit down, and by the time that happens, the whistle screeches across the pitch, indicating the end of the match and Adora is standing and celebrating again.

It takes Adora all the will in her body not to run onto the pitch and throw herself against her teammates. Starting now, she needed to focus on recovering so she could play as soon as possible. So she tosses her arms around the nearest people she can find and waits for the players on the field to swarm the bench instead.

She watches as Netossa runs towards the crowd and pulls herself over the barricade to kiss her fiancee, Spinerella. Adora lets her mouth curve up into a small smile. Spinerella had been on track to make the World Cup roster before she tore her ACL at the beginning of May. She had chosen to make the trek to Japan to support her fiancee. 

Adora’s chest fills with warmth, Catra had promised to fly out for the final if Etheria made it that far. Adora wished Catra could be there for the entire tournament, but she still had summer classes and training, and Hordak was barely willing to let Catra come out at all, so Adora will take what she can get. 

She  _ definitely  _ had to focus on recovery so that Catra could come and watch her play. 

It wasn’t often that they could watch each other actually play, more often than not they were on the same pitch as teammates, too focused on the game itself. They had played on the same youth league teams for years growing up and eventually even ended up at the same university on athletic scholarship. It had been a long time since their youth team days as the Little Horde, but playing the game she loved with Catra never failed to make her heart light up, even on days they lost.

She’s lost in her thoughts when Mara comes running over, wrapping her into a hug and gently picking her up off the ground. They’re both laughing when Mara puts her back down. 

“We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I know. I just. Wish that I could’ve done more,” Adora sighs.

“Hey, let’s focus on getting you back in time for the final, okay kid?” Mara gives her a soft smile. 

Adora nods and she can’t help but smile thinking about the possibility of playing in a  _ World Cup final  _ . Mara’s smile grows wider, and they’re both grinning like fools before they realize it.

_ Soon. _

* * *

Adora doesn’t get a chance to check her phone until almost midnight. The trainers had recommended she avoid screens when she could and she had no trouble listening, because even the light of the hotel meeting room made her world spin and her head ache.

After the game, the team had piled onto the bus back to the hotel and Adora had taken the opportunity to take a short nap to rest her head. Mara had gently woken her before they arrived at the hotel. Coach Razz had wanted to hold a post-game meeting on the bus, but the team had insisted it wait until they at least reached the hotel. Before dinner, Coach Razz had gone over some of their gameplay and talked about their next opponent, but Adora had all but mentally checked out at that point, as bad as it sounded. Her head just hurt, it was hard to keep track of all of the things Razz was rapidly listing off to them. Adora felt less guilty when Castaspell had promised to share her notes with her afterwards.

Dinner was a loud affair. Everyone was in high spirits ready to celebrate. This was the furthest Etheria had ever made it in a World Cup. Dinner was served at the hotel, but the team had agreed that they’d take the weekend to go out and celebrate with a nice team dinner in Tokyo. Adora couldn’t help but pick at her food just a bit, it was hard to think with all of the noise in the dining room. She politely excused herself from dinner early, deciding that it was best to get some lay down and get some rest. Some of her teammates gave her a sad smile, but most just nodded and soon Adora was on her way out the door in search of some peace and quiet.

She slides her keycard into the lock with relative difficulty and lets herself into the shared hotel room. Netossa probably wouldn’t be back until later anyway.

Adora chucks off her shoes and picks out a clean set of pajamas before heading to take a shower. She sighs as she lets the warmth of the water overtake her senses, easing the pressure in her head. Adora has to admit, she feels a lot better after a nice hot shower.

She brushes her teeth before falling onto her bed and waking up her phone. She winces as the bright screen flashes on. She can’t believe her eyes when she sees  _ 48 missed notifications  _ . Most of them are concerned texts from friends and teammates back home who stayed up late to watch her game. It makes her smile just a bit to think that they care enough to ruin their sleep schedules just to watch her.

18 of the missed notifications are from Catra. All of them are worried texts over Adora’s injury. It hurts to focus too much on the blue blocks of text, but she can make out a few of the messages.

**catra :p :** adora _ you IDIOT _

**_catra :p :_ ** _ Fuckfuckfuck _

**_catra :p :_ ** _ that was a FUCKING red in what fucking world is that a yellow she could’ve broken your fucking leg!!!!! _

**_catra :p :_ ** _ fuck please tell me you’re okay _

Almost instinctively, Adora presses the video call button.

It takes Catra four rings to answer.

“Hey, Adora,” she groans, obviously just waking up from sleep. Her face is pressed against a pillow and her eyes barely flutter open.

“Hi. I’m sorry, I can call back later if you wanna go back to bed.”

“No no, just. Just give me a second.”

Adora watches as Catra sits up and props herself against the headboard, shaking out her hair in an attempt to wake herself up. Cute. Adora takes the opportunity to plug in her phone and tuck herself in.

“How’s your head?”

“Hurts,” Adora murmurs.

Catra laughs. “Yeah, no shit Sherlock. What did the trainers say?”

“A concussion. Hopefully I’ll be back in time for the final, ya know, if we make it that far.”

There’s a pause on the other end of the line.

“Catra?”

Another pause.

“Yeah, sorry, you just cut out. Hey, don’t think about that, just focus on getting better okay? There’ll be more World Cups.”

“Wish you were here with me,” Adora all but whispers, tiredness beginning to overcome her body.

Catra’s voice is soft over the line. 

“Yeah. Me too.”

“Will you stay on the line with me until I fall asleep? Please?”

Catra gives her a gentle nod.

“Tell me about your day.”

Adora falls asleep with a smile to the sound of Catra’s voice narrating a story about that day’s training and how she and Lonnie had won their 2v2 scrimmage.

* * *

Adora’s in a deep sleep when Catra finally hangs up. Her face falters for a second, only the faintest glimmer of sadness is visible in the corner of her eyes before she blinks and sighs.

“Good night, Adora.”


	2. a thousand nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a look back into catra and adora's history together.

Soccer hasn’t felt like fun for a long time.

It used to be so _easy_. The sweat and gruel of a hard practice, the anxiety biting at her stomach before stepping onto the pitch, the adrenaline of scoring. It just doesn’t make her feel like it used to. It doesn’t give her the same rush, the same satisfaction. 

More days than not, soccer makes Catra feel empty. 

Yearning, almost. 

For a simpler time when they were just kids and she and Adora would have trick shot contests after practices, when she would relentlessly try to nutmeg Adora because she knew how much it flustered her, when Adora would sit down in the middle of a game to pluck flowers from the field and braid them into her hair while their coach yelled in the background because she was leaving the goal open, when they played the game just because they were kids who loved it.

They used to be kids, running and screaming down the pitch in hand-me-down cleats and shin guards too big for their legs just having fun. Even as they outgrew their youth teams, they still had each other and their love of the game, and that was all they needed.

Catra can remember the exact moment things started to change. It was freshman year of high school; they had both tried out for the school team. Adora had made varsity. She had only made JV.

Suddenly, it wasn’t about having fun or loving the sport anymore. It was about competitions and power dynamics and Catra hated every minute of it. During lunch, Adora would always talk about how nice the varsity girls were, about how much fun she was having, and Catra was just frustrated. It wasn’t like the JV team was _bad_ by any means, at least she had made JV instead of frosh, but it wasn’t the same. Soccer just wasn’t the same without Adora.

But Adora had just been so _excited_ , and Catra couldn’t bear to quit, not when they promised that they would grow up and win a World Cup together. She put on a brave face and worked harder, smarter, and soon became a starter on the JV team. Things weren’t so bad for a little while.

Halfway through their first season, Catra began to see the cracks in Adora’s armor. Adora had made the starting squad for her next game, her third start of the season, and she just looked so _scared._ Catra remembers sitting at lunch that day, Adora just picking at her food in silence. It took five full minutes before Adora realized what she was doing, quickly shoveling the remnants of her lunch into her mouth and trying to make awkward conversation with Catra about how _excited_ she was for the weekend’s game.

* * *

It came in waves. Some days Adora would be bouncing off the walls talking about soccer, but others, Catra could tell that the pressure was getting to her. Adora had been the only freshman to make varsity that year not to mention that she was a _starter_. Everyone had so many expectations for Adora it was only a matter of time before she cracked. But Adora was Adora and she would never admit it. She was so good at helping other people but always absolute shit at helping herself.

Every time Catra tried to bring it up, she had quickly brushed it off, insisted everything was fine and that she was loving soccer and the team, and changed the subject. But Catra knew better. She could practically see Adora mentally beating herself up after games for not doing enough, even if she had scored a brace and clenched their victory in the final thirty seconds. It was like nothing Adora could do was ever enough, because no matter how well she did, people always expected _more_.

The worst of it came during state championships that year. 

Since the JV season was over, Catra had volunteered to travel with the varsity team to state and take photos and record stats for the team. The bus ride there had been uneventful, Adora had fallen asleep on her shoulder for most of it and shamelessly drooled on her shoulder. The night leading up to the game almost felt normal. Maybe she had been overanalyzing Adora because of her own insecurities. Or at least, that’s what she thought until she heard Adora silently sobbing into her pillowcase on the bed next to her in the middle of the night, she had probably thought Catra had fallen asleep.

Catra doesn’t sleep that night.

In the morning, everyone is antsy, especially Adora. At breakfast, she watches how Adora’s hands shake underneath the table. Catra sits there and listens politely as the team goes about their normal conversations.

The roster is announced after they eat. Catra notices Adora take a sharp breath when her name is announced as a starter. She thinks she’s going to be sick. 

* * *

They’re evenly matched at half-time. The teams had been pretty evenly matched, as expected of a state championship match. Adora had had four shots on goal, but all of them had been blocked by the opposing keeper, a tall muscular girl with short white hair who seemed to have it out for Adora. 

Their opponents score in the seventy-ninth minute. It’s a clean volley from the top of the arc straight into the net by a girl the other team identified as Lonnie.

Adora goes down just inside the box in the eighty-ninth minute from a late challenge. The defender is sent off with a red card and the team decides that Adora should take the penalty. Adora takes a deep breath before setting up at the penalty spot, staring intensely at the opposing keeper. She was the team’s best penalty taker, keepers were never able to read her. Adora takes a running start and slams her foot into the side of the ball.

Catra’s stomach fills with dread as the ball soars almost a meter over the top of the goalposts.

* * *

The bus is silent on the way back. She grasps Adora’s hand and gives it a comforting squeeze. Adora gives her a tight squeeze back. They stay like that almost the entire bus ride. Neither of them let go.

* * *

Adora is different after state championships. She still talks about soccer like it’s her world, but her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Catra makes varsity their second year. She scores the winning goal in the ninety-second minute of the game. They win that year, and the next year, and the next year.

Soccer becomes more about winning than anything else. Catra doesn’t mind. She's good at winning and Adora would still give her heart and soul to the sport, so she’ll stay. They both get athletic scholarships to Fright Zone University.

The summer before their junior year, they both get a call up to the Etherian National Team for an international friendly tournament and Catra has a moment of hope. It’s unexpected, but for the first time in a long time, she’s happy. She’s excited to get to play with Adora and be that much closer to their dream.

They both get capped that summer. Adora plays in all four matches, Catra plays in two. It’s the start of their national careers, and they got to start it together. The thought makes her smile.

They get called up again throughout the year. By the time May rolls around, Adora has 9 caps and Catra has 5. Neither of them expect what’s coming in late May.

Adora makes the World Cup roster. Catra doesn’t.

It hurts to watch Adora leave for Japan without her. She feels like she’s being left behind.

Soccer stopped being fun a long time ago.


End file.
